Howard, Big Ears & Little Peg
by writtenndust
Summary: A little story about nothing; some kids and a somewhat grumpy Howard.


This story serves little to no purpose. It furthers no plot, it elaborates on very little. But it's a cute little nothing about Howard and a bunch of kids. I hope it's sweet and just a little something for no reason.

* * *

Howard chose his Los Angeles mansion for several reasons. It's proximity to the ocean, for one. It was a nice distance, no more than a stroll with a view to the horizon - not that he ever made the journey on foot, or at all. But he liked the idea that he could, should he want to. He also chose it for it's hacienda feel, the warm, rich terracotta and the smell of herbs toasting in the sun. Not that he spent much time in the kitchens, but he liked to smell like he could cook, if a more homely girl happened to catch his eye.

Another reason he had chosen the house, perched on a hill-crest with a view of the hills and the ocean, with the world at arms reach - was for the quiet. He wasn't known for his preference for solitude, having been seen all about many towns cavorting with women, schmoozing with fellow billionaires and charming everyone from socialites to soccer players.

But Howard Stark liked his peace and quiet. He also liked the hubbub of a pool full of attractive women, but he was a fickle man, with constantly changing needs and he'd required a house that could meet all of them. Solitude or society, he needed to be accessible to both.

What he hadn't chosen the house for, was it's child care facility.

Come to think of it, Howard was fairly certain that when he'd purchased the expansive estate, the deed hadn't included a child care facility at all. The menagerie had been an addition he'd built on with adjustments to the layout of an existing stable. But the creche, in the downstairs east wing, wasn't something he could recall discussing with the realtor.

But the very east wing living room in question, was crowded with a collection of stuffed bears, sweet-faced dolls and an assortment of custom-made toy trains. To be fair, he'd purchased a fair collection of the toys that surrounded him; the majority of which were to placate the mother of the two less extravagantly dressed children amongst the group currently running rings around Ana Jarvis.

The little ones in question were the years of five and two, respectively, with the younger of them wearing a delightfully feminine pink polka-dot dress with a frilly under-skirt that matched the lace at the top of her socks. She was a vision, tottering around on unsteady legs with a look of defiance as keen as her mother's. She would walk, as determinedly as the older children, come hell or high water. She stumbled over one of the toy trains, scuffing her little knee on the carpet and Howard had to hold back a snicker. She was so like her mother.

"Ah, Mrs Jarvis?" He questioned, raising his voice over the excited squeals of a half-dozen children, all of which could have been no more than six years old. The children he didn't recognise were all in expensive, brightly coloured smocks or neatly ironed shorts with their socks pulled to their knees and their shoes impeccably shined. He could only image they had to be local, considering their high-end attire.

"Yes, Mister Stark." Ana, the darling Ana Jarvis, one of the two women he held in the highest esteem. He honoured her opinion and was respectful of her space, even in his own home.

"What is happening here?" He stood, dumb-founded as the small group of boys discovered him and started running around him as if he were a maypole.

"Oh, their parents saw that I was caring for young Michael and Bess and asked if I wouldn't mind, seeing as I spend my days here, at the estate. The boys do get along so well." She gestured to the group of three currently scrutinising him, two with their fair hair and neatly pressed blazers and the shortest, with his dark hair, ears that stuck out as if to hear far more than the rest of the world and a grass stain on his leg from knee to ankle.

"So we're running a creche now, Mrs Jarvis?" He asked, incredulous and Ana's smile faltered.

"I suppose, when you look at it like that."

Howard turned up his nose. "How many of them are there? And why aren't they with their parents?"

Ana shrugged. "Just a few." She smiled, pressing her palms together as they watched the smallest, little Bess, struggle with the step nearest to Howard. The elder boys, Michael along with James and Herbert from across the street, were pulling and tugging on Howard's clothes. He wondered, ever so fleetingly, if he was going to need to check his person for any form of theft, once he dealt with the situation. They were quick and they were crafty and they were in far greater numbers than he was comfortable dealing with.

"And how exactly am I expected to work with all of this ruckus?"

Ana frowned. "I'm sorry, Mr Stark, I didn't think they were so very loud."

"Well," Howard spluttered for an excuse. She was right though, until he'd stumbled onto them down at the end of the house, with the guest rooms off to the left, which he still liked to refer to as Peggy's rooms, and the Jarvis residence down by the pool; he hadn't actually heard a sound that was cause for alarm.

Howard, however, liked to plan for the worst case scenario and currently, there were six small children under the age of six, freely bouncing around his guest wing, four of which had the pretentious air of their parents - it unnerved him. Anything in the world could go wrong - it only took one of them to knock over a priceless vase and the world could stumble into chaos.

He had to fight back the urge to smile, when little Bess missed a step and went tumbling yet again, with her ruffled skirts over her head exposing her frilly-bottomed bloomers to the world. Mrs Jarvis leapt for her, lifting the little girl to her hip with a gentle coo and a soothing bounce.

"Uncle!" Little Bess shrieked, when she was level with Howard and finally able to identify him. For a brief moment he wondered what it would be like to be her size, only able to identify people by their shoes, or in the case of her father, the addition of a rubber ended walking crutch.

"Yes, Bess, it's your Uncle Howard and I've been trying to work." He mock-scowled at her, but Bess wasn't having it. She extended her chubby little hands to him, begging to be taken into his arms. From the day she'd been born, Howard had struggled to deny the child. She looked like her mother, in every which way he could imagine. She had dark eyes and rosebud lips. She had a pinkish, cherubic complexion and soft, chestnut curls pinned back by a little pink bow that matched her dress.

Howard was putty for her, as he was her mother, and both mother and child knew it.

"Not now, little one, I'm trying to be stern." He stage whispered and Bess just stared at him, confused and let her hands fall back to fiddling with Ana's necklace. "Mrs Jarvis, I must insist that all of these children be returned to their homes."

"But Mr Stark, young Michael is enjoying playing with his new friends."

The child in question had stopped before him, looking up at him with those same strong brown eyes his sister had; that their mother had; that Howard was not impervious to - the children were so like her, occasionally it sent a shiver down his spine, but Michael did have his father's ears, which brought a bit of laughter to Howard's eyes. "Please, Uncle Howard," The boy used that tone Howard always appreciated, that businesslike seriousness he had garnered from listening to his parents discuss their work from behind closed doors. "James and Herbert don't have their lessons today and Bess is so enjoying learning how to dance with Lily and Millicent." He gestured to the two little girls that were playing with Bess's dolls, completely ignoring the little one still perched on Ana's hip.

Howard found it hard to believe the girls cared at all, for his favourite, odd little Bess. "Is that so?"

"Yes sir," Michael answered, raising his chin defiantly.

Howard was dubious about Lily and Millicent; they were at least three years older than Bess and they barely even looked up from playing with the dolls to pay attention to Howard and Michael. They had only glanced in their direction when they'd heard their names.

Howard was faltering, but he couldn't back down. If he let this continue, Ana's make-shift creche was going to develop into a fully-fledged business and he wasn't about to have a house full of screaming, destructive children wearing tracks in his carpet and disrupting his pool-parties. And he was bound to have a pool party, without warning, likely when the children wanted to swim and likely when it was inappropriate to have a pool full of half-naked women, aiding in his 'thinking' - but damn it, it was his house and that was another reason why he'd chosen to buy it. The pool was great, surrounded by a sufficient paved area for entertaining and room for an outdoor bar - and the right to have a pool party with a backyard full of half-naked women whenever he wanted.

"Big-ears and little Peg can stay, but the others need to go, and that's the end of it."

Michael's eyes narrowed and it was then Howard could see the no-nonsense of the boy's father. That stern, Brooklyn stubbornness with a touch of Portuguese fire.

"That's not fair!" Michael protested loudly.

"Now, Michael, this is your Uncle's house," Ana began. "And he has very important work to do and we shan't disturb him." She gripped the boy's shoulder, turning his angry expression from Howard who stood firm, matching the petulant scowl with one of his own. His attitude wasn't helping the situation, but he was of the mindset that it was his house and it was his choice and the child would have to deal with it.

"Come now," Ana, ever the gentle diplomat, spoke kindly to the children. "Gather your things and Michael, Bess and I will walk you home."

"Uncle How!" Bess boomed, twisting her body to desperately reach over Ana's shoulder for Howard. Not a single one of them was more surprised by Bess's enduring affection for Howard than himself, but he had a particularly soft spot for her, as well.

"I can keep Bess here, Mrs Jarvis."

The woman looked at him in surprise. "I hope you don't mean in your lab." She eyed him and Howard shook his head vehemently.

"I value my life, ma'am. And I know what her mother is capable of."

"Just see that you remember." She smirked as she let the child lean over, wrapping her arms around Howard's neck and clinging to him with a shriek of delight.

* * *

"Hello!" Peggy called as she entered the house. She'd been surprised when there was no one at the door to greet her. She knew that Mr Jarvis had been running an errand for Howard, but she was surprised to enter the estate without seeing even a glimpse of Howard or Ana. "Is anyone here?" She called again, hearing her own voice echo just a little through the foyer.

Silence returned to her.

"Michael!" She called down the hall, heading for her old rooms. "Elizabeth, sweetheart, where are you?"

Still nothing. Peggy could feel her heart start to hammer in her chest. It was possible for Michael to be out in the yard, terrorising Bernard. But it was unusual for Elizabeth not to come running, as best she was able, for her mother.

Peggy made her way further into the silent estate, refusing to believe the worst until it was confirmed. She lived a dangerous life, but she wouldn't believe it had reached her home, once again. Though the very fact that she feared it, meant that it was still a possibility. It wouldn't be the first time the estate had been invaded and someone she loved, hurt.

"Howard, please answer me!" Peggy called, worry etched in her voice as she rounded the corner into the lab. What she saw there, when she pushed through the double-glass doors, brought a warmth to her heart. Elizabeth, her tiny little copy of her own self, was perched happily on the edge of the counter with her little hands occupied by the porcelain-faced Doll Howard had bought her back from his last trip to Europe, right before Christmas.

She cherished that doll and she hadn't spent a day without it since he had given it to her.

Howard was wearing a pair of large, protective goggles, as he tinkered with something on the counter. One hand on what he was doing, and the other ensuring his little charge didn't slip from the counter. Peggy was touched. She didn't always have the greatest faith in Howard, but she knew, at his core, he was a good and kind man. And it was never proved more than when he was with her children.

"What do we have here?" She smirked, stepping into the room.

"Peg!" Howard squeaked, looking up at her with those ridiculous goggles. His back went rigid, remembering how the last time she'd found him in the lab with her children, Michael's skin had been dyed blue for a week and Elizabeth had developed a temporary lisp, making it even harder for her to be understood.

"Mama!" Elizabeth squealed, kicking her legs and grinning from ear to ear. Peggy moved to her, resting her hip against the counter and helping Elizabeth carefully place her doll down before wrapping her arms around her.

"What have you and Uncle Howard been working on, huh?" She questioned, lifting the little girl to her hip as she turned to Howard.

"Nothing," He swallowed. "She hasn't touched a thing, I swear."

"Good to hear."

Peggy looked around the room briefly before turning back to Howard. "And where is Michael?"

"He had some friends over. He and Ana are just walking them home. They should be back any moment."

"Good," She nodded, smiling as Elizabeth snuggled herself closer.

"Staying for dinner?" He questioned and Peggy smiled, but her eyes were on Bess as she played with the Carter family crest that hung around Peggy's neck.

"Is that an invitation, Howard?"

"You're always invited to stay, Peg. You know I was heart broken when you packed up and shipped out."

Peggy scoffed. "I got married, Howard." She laughed. "I couldn't exactly continue living here, with my husband all the way across town."

Howard smirked. "It's the fifties, Peg, things are getting more progressive every day."

Peggy turned to him with laughter in her eyes, choosing not to respond to his comment. "Daniel's still at work, I'll call him to drop in here when he's done."

Howard clapped his hands together. "Terrific! I'll let Jarvis know to break out the good silver." He bounded out of the room, leaving Peggy and Bess in the lab alone. Peggy watched him go with a grin before turning back to the little girl.

"Your Uncle Howard thinks the world of you." She smiled, pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead, earning herself a giggle and her little face, buried in her chest for a tighter hug.

The End.

* * *

I'm still working on their voices. I haven't quite gotten the feel of the Agent Carter characters just yet, so I think it'll be a hand-full of little nothing stories like this, before I can get back into writing. I haven't done it for so long.


End file.
